Posts under ‘Eni’

London based rights group, Amnesty International (AI), says Royal Dutch Shel and Italian oil multinational, Eni, might have wrongly attributed 89 oil spills in Nigeria’s Delta to theft and sabotage. According to AI, 46 of the pollution incidents were triggered by Shel and 43 by Eni. “Amnesty International researchers have identified that at least 89 spills may have been wrongly labeled as theft or sabotage when in fact they were caused by ‘operational’ faults,” the London-based group said in a report released yesterday.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK MAR 16, 2018

London based rights group, Amnesty International (AI), says Royal Dutch Shel and Italian oil multinational, Eni, might have wrongly attributed 89 oil spills in Nigeria’s Delta to theft and sabotage.

According to AI, 46 of the pollution incidents were triggered by Shel and 43 by Eni.

“Amnesty International researchers have identified that at least 89 spills may have been wrongly labeled as theft or sabotage when in fact they were caused by ‘operational’ faults,” the London-based group said in a report released yesterday.read more

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and Eni have voluntarily filed to U.S. authorities internal probes into how they acquired a giant field in Nigeria as the companies seek to fight corruption allegations in Europe and Africa.

The filings, to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), do not mean U.S. authorities are investigating Shell or Eni.

But the move shows the companies are trying to preempt questions from the United States as they face one of the oil industry’s biggest-ever graft trials in Italy, to begin in May in Milan, a pending trial in Nigeria and an investigation in the Netherlands.read more

BY SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK: MAR 05, 2018

A statement by a Civil Society organization monitoring the trial of Royal Dutch Shell and Italian ENI executives over multibillion-dollar bribery has revealed that Nigeria’s Attorney General, Abubakar Malami is working against Nigeria’s interest as he sent a rookie lawyer to represent Nigeria at the court trial. In the opening hearing today, the lawyer identified as Hillary Seidu told the court Nigeria doesn’t want to seek any damages from the indicted multinational corporations.

A statement by a Civil Society organization monitoring the trial of Royal Dutch Shell and Italian ENI executives over multibillion-dollar bribery has revealed that Nigeria’s Attorney General, Abubakar Malami is working against Nigeria’s interest as he sent a rookie lawyer to represent Nigeria at the court trial. In the opening hearing today, the lawyer identified as Hillary Seidu told the court Nigeria doesn’t want to seek any damages from the indicted multinational corporations.read more

MILAN (Reuters) – An Italian court on Monday postponed to May 14 the start of a trial of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Eni (ENI.MI) executives over alleged corruption in Nigeria.

The decision confirms what three sources had told Reuters on Friday. The trial was originally expected to start on Monday.

The case involves the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria of Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oilfield – one of Africa’s most valuable oil blocks – for about $1.3 billion (941.07 million pounds).read more

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA are going to trial in Italy over bribery charges involving an oil field in Nigeria. Two things are unusual about the case. One is the sheer scale of the sum involved — $1.1 billion. The other is that the defendants include Eni’s Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi, the company’s former CEO and a former top executive at Shell. The trial begins Monday in Milan.

1. What was the $1.1 billion for?

It was paid by the companies to the Nigerian government in 2011 for a license to drill in deep waters off the Nigerian coast. The license had been in dispute for years. It had originally been awarded in 1998 by the country’s military dictator, Sani Abacha, to Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd., a Lagos-based company connected to then-Petroleum Minister Dan Etete. Under successive governments, the license was canceled, awarded to Shell, and then awarded to Malabu again before the 2011 deal. Shell and Eni also paid the government about $200 million as a signature bonus — a onetime fee charged by some oil-producing nations.read more

A corporate bribery trial in Milan billed as the biggest in history has been postponed. Court proceedings against oil companies Shell and Eni over corruption in the Nigerian oil sector will now only start in mid-May.

The two companies stand accused of handing out bribes during the 2011 purchase of OPL245, an oil block estimated to hold 9 billion barrels of crude.

Both firms have denied the charges against them. “Eni expresses its full confidence in the judicial process and that the trial will ascertain and confirm the correctness and integrity of our conduct,” the Italian company said in a statement.read more

Originally published March 4, 2018 at 9:02 pmUpdated March 5, 2018 at 2:13 am By COLLEEN BARRY:The Associated Press

MILAN (AP) — A corporate bribery trial billed as the biggest in history opened Monday against the Shell and Eni oil companies as well as former and current executives, all charged in a $1.1 billion scandal to win control of one of Nigeria’s most lucrative oil blocks.

The size of the two oil companies makes the trial the biggest ever, according to anti-corruption campaigners, who also say it is unprecedented that Eni’s current CEO, Claudio Descalzi, remains in his post while he faces such serious charges. read more

Stanley Reed

On Monday, two of the world’s largest oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell and Eni of Italy, are expected to go on trial in Milan on corruption charges over a $1.3 billion oil deal in Nigeria. The defendants include current and former oil executives, among them Claudio Descalzi, Eni’s chief executive. The case stems from a long-running investigation by Italian prosecutors into a payment the companies made to the Nigerian government in 2011 to settle a legal dispute over a potentially lucrative tract in the Atlantic Ocean known as OPL 245. Both companies deny wrongdoing, but having such senior or former top executives facing trial is unusual. The trial is expected to take months.read more

The Italian inquiry is one of several into the acquisition of OPL-245, including cases in the Netherlands and Nigeria.

Reuters: 2 March 2018

MILAN (Reuters) – A trial in Italy of Royal Dutch Shell and Eni executives over alleged corruption in Nigeria, which had been due to start on March 5, will be transferred to another court in Milan, delaying the proceedings, legal sources said.

Earlier this week, the Milan tribunal informed lawyers that the court which had been due to hear the trial had too many cases and could not guarantee that it would do so in a reasonable period of time, three sources told Reuters on Friday.read more

Royal Dutch Shell and Eni are about to go on trial over an alleged bribery scheme to secure a valuable oil field

Dutch investigators, too, are on Shell’s back. They raided its offices in The Hague in 2016 and tapped the phone of Ben van Beurden, Shell’s current chief executive. A sizeable team of Dutch investigators is still working on the case…

…informed Eni that America’s FBI, which was following the OPL 245 money trail, had contacted him about testifying…

Both firms would face fines not only in Europe but possibly also in America, whose crime-busters could use the deferred-prosecution agreements from 2010 to brand Shell and Eni repeat offenders, calculating their fines accordingly.

Mar 3rd 2018

RESOURCE-RICH Nigeria has long ignited interest from oil firms, but it can be a dangerously combustible environment when it comes to the risk of corruption. Two firms caught up in scandals are Royal Dutch Shell and Eni, Italy’s state-backed energy group. In 2010 both entered into deferred-prosecution agreements with America’s Department of Justice after being implicated in separate Nigerian bribery schemes. But those pale beside a case involving the two companies that is set to go to trial in Milan on March 5th.read more

Eni reports record oil and gas production

Eni’s strong performance has been clouded by allegations of bribery related to a $1.3bn deal in 2011 to acquire one of Nigeria’s largest untapped oilfields. Mr Descalzi and several other current and former executives are due to stand trial for alleged corruption in Milan in March. Mr Descalzi has denied wrongdoing and Eni’s board has maintained its “full confidence” in him.read more

ABUJA, Feb 15 (Reuters) – A Nigerian court has set a hearing over a disputed 2011 oilfield deal for June 18, the country’s financial crimes watchdog said on Thursday, part of a string of international corruption probes into the purchase.

The case relates to a purchase of the offshore OPL 245 oilfield in Nigeria by oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in 2011.

At the core of the case is a $1.3 billion payment from Shell and Eni to secure the block from Malabu Oil and Gas, allegedly controlled by former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete.read more

Shell and Eni paid $1.3 billion for oil rights in Nigeria. Whether the money was mostly a bribe is at the heart of one of the industry’s most dramatic criminal cases

A top oil executive walked into the marble lobby of an exclusive Milan hotel on a chilly winter night. His dinner date was a former Nigerian oil minister offering to sell one of Africa’s biggest untapped oil discoveries.

Eight years later, the question of whether the $1.3 billion paid for the license to that prized oil field was mostly a bribe is at the heart of one of the biggest bribery scandals the oil industry has ever seen.

Shell executives, including Malcolm Brinded, Shell’s global exploration and production chief at the time of the deal, will also be tried on those charges, as well as both companies. Eni and Shell both deny wrongdoing, saying they simply paid the government and didn’t know the money would be used for …read more

Big names in Houston’s energy world, like KBR, Shell and SBM Offshore, were suddenly having to explain how they came to win drilling rights and contracts worth billions of dollars in countries like Nigeria, Angola and Brazil. That money was then to be passed to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company controlled by the former Nigerian oil minister and convicted money launderer Dan Etete. For years, Shell said it was unaware of what happened to the money, but emails obtained by Global Witness indicated that the company knew the money was going to Malabu.read more

SHELL BLOG

Comments

Bogus Group: Further to my post on this blog, 28 August'17, there may be some interest an an article in yesterday's Upstream "Trial set for clash of LNG players".

TotallyHackedOff: Shell - as I am sure with many global super majors- is heavy with narcissists at all levels. Lots of people like Trump rollicking around- get in their way and you’re a gonner! See you later Rexy baby!

TotallyHackedOff: In reply to Bonus Group and Another Concerned Employee- its clear reading from your posts that Shell and BG shared many business cultural similarities making the tie-up an obvious one. I know of a few Shell employees who resigned, joined BG and are now back at Shell again- it stinks of a plant/trojan horse ending! It is well known that Shell has an 'inner circle' and if you find yourself outside that as many of the technical folk do, you don't stand a chance. Its all a bit wink, wink nudge, nudge. I even remember one manager (now a VP of something) telling me how I needed to 'read between the lines' which made me think it was all a load of bollocks and how the politically adept arse kissers rose through the ranks blissfully unaware of how their actions impacted their colleagues. The alpha men and women were all the same- keen to get ahead at anyones expense and doing secret backroom deals. Its one ginormous playground and the bullies will win as they are keeping the other bullies in place.

Bonus Group: 'Another Concerned Employee'talks about Shell's 'scooby-doo' business priciples, BG's were just as opaque. If you asked someone in HR about policy you would be deflected to 'The Portal' and left to fend for yourself. Often the policies conflicted with each other and had no foundation in law. This was reflected in the hypocritical management 'do as I say, not as I do' policy.
The closest experience most of BG Senior Management had of oil rigs and platforms was reading about them in comic books. The Brasil Asset was a complete shambles with its 'Simple Simon' approach to geoscience and cappuccino lifestyle. Unfortunately, most of these overpaid sociopaths migrated to Shell and are waiting, mouth's open for their next bonus. Shell must be trying hard to find ways to cover up grotesque errors in reserves booked by this Asset. Hopefully, Shell's assurance process is better than BG's with its £2Bn failure.

Yet Another Concerned Employee: Carillion, for whom the bell tolls! Remarkable that a Shell Executive should have a finger in this pie with its aggressive auditing practices. More 'pulling the wool' over the shareholder's eyes. Were the auditors asleep at the wheel when this was happening? There should be a full investigation, and those responsible made accountable. Perhaps, sunny Brunei is a safe haven? I wonder what the extradition treaties between the UK and Brunei are?

Another Concerned Employee: Shell HR finds it easy to overlook its fake scooby doo business principles whenever it suits them. A number of staff implicit in OPL and the spin doctors trying desperately to cover up the crisis are still on payroll. It won't surprise anyone that Ceri was one of Brinded's loyal lapdogs during his dictatorship. Also no surprise she landed such a sweet job in Brunei.

Concerned Employee: Not sure if you know but..
Cerie Powell - ex EVP exploration now MD Brunei Shell Petroleum was a non exec director of Carillion (now in liquidation). She resigned once she was demoted to Brunei in 2016 (?) but given the news around the legacy issues involving Carillion, should she really hold a senior position in Shell Group ?

Bonus Group: It is understandable that a niche now exists in the market for a company similar to BG Group, but for Neptune Energy to set its aim at emulating and becoming like BG is nothing short of horrifying. Why anyone should wish to recreate the inept management, twisted HR policies and rancid technical half truths of BG Group in order to deceive the shareholders is beyond comprehension. If they do, then the Serious Fraud Office should be on the alert. Sammy 'two pools', whose past remit included selling Enterprise Oil to Shell, rather than ENI is made of sterner stuff. That said, his nuclear ambitions did fall somewhat short of those of Kim Yong Un. Let's wish Neptune Energy a long, scandal free future and greater integrity than bungling BG with its House of Cards and flamboyant ineptitude.

Bogus Group: Following the acquisition of Engie the Financial Times headline “Neptune Energy sets aim on being the next BG Group” may have sent a chill through some. To think there could possibly be a rise from the ashes is an alarming prospect
However there was some comfort in the company chairman statement “We have the opportunity to take the time to get it right”.
Hopefully this means their Ethics and Compliance foundation will actually be more than just another policy open to distortion by misconduct.

Bill Campbell: Is the New York City case against Oil Companies justifiable or just hot air?

Many, if not all prestigious US scientific journals estimate largest source of air pollution in US is caused by vehicle emissions. Current estimates that US has some 260 million automobiles and 11 million trucks. It is the daily emissions from these vehicles that are the cause of scientific concern. But anybody visiting Florida, and following a construction truck, will be familiar with black smoke in copious amounts emitting from the vertical exhaust pipe, sometimes it's so bad it can restrict your vision but Florida is not the only state of the US that does not require emission control, there are many more, monitoring for example (like a UK vehicle MOT) is not legally required or carried out.

So perhaps De Blasio should start suing these delinquent states.

In any case, I find the whole matter ludicrous in a country, where their President claims that human activity is not related in any way to global warming and appoints a head of EPA who is also so inclined (a man described by NY Times as an arsonist in the Fire Station) so why does Shell et all not call as witnesses in their defence the current EPA Director, or otherwise why does De Blasio not start by suing those states that allow millions of vehicles to pollute the atmosphere daily.
Bill

Bonus Group: Further to my last post on this blog. Sound Energy have now arranged a slap-up bean feast for their shareholders to be held on 15th February at Grace Hall, Leadenhall Street, London. Drinks at Carriages afterwards. Dress is formal so don't expect too energetic a food fight. Attendees must pay for their own tickets! All will be revealed about the new Coro strategy. You may recall that Sound shareholders will receive Coro shares as a result of the divestment of Sound's Italian assets. The question is whether Sound shareholders will end up in the soup.

Bonus Group: There are rumblings in the ether about Rockhopper Exploration plc having failed to perform Due Diligence with integrity in respect of their purchase of the Italian focused company Mediterranean Oil and Gas (MOG) in 2014, and in particular MOG's asset, the Ombrina Mare oil field.
Following the decision in February 2016 by the Ministry of Economic Development not to award the company a production concession covering the Ombrina Mare field, the company has considered its legal options with regard to obtaining damages and compensation from the Republic of Italy for breaching the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
Could this have anything to do with the sudden and unexpected departure of Rockhopper's Chief Operating Officer, one 'Good Time' Fiona MacAuley? Fiona, a Chartered Geologist, started her career with Mobil North Sea Limited in 1985 and has subsequently held key roles in a number of leading oil and gas firms across large mid and small cap E&Ps including BG and Hess.
Fiona is now Chief Executive Officer of Echo Energy plc where Stephen Whyte (also ex BG) is a Non-Executive Director, previously having been Chairman of Sound Energy. Fiona will also become a Non-Executive Director of Saffron Energy plc. It is proposed that Saffron acquires Sound Energy's portfolio of Italian interests and permits through the acquisition by Saffron of Sound Energy Holdings Italy Limited (SEHIL). SEHIL holds all of Sound Energy's Italian oil and gas interests through its own wholly owned subsidiary, Apennine Energy SpA (APN). It is proposed that Saffron will be renamed Coro Energy plc.
This is yet another 'reverse takeover' by the Sound Energy/Echo Energy Team. The share options for the directors are raining on them like confetti. Could there be bonuses in store for the Directors of this association of companies where the paint is never allowed to dry?
Plenty of 'smoke and mirrors' and wool being pulled over the shareholders' eyes in this can of worms.

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